After defeat to Celtic in the Champions League, despite his Barcelona team enjoying 89% of possession and dominating in most facets of the games, Tito Vilanova told reporters that this signalled an end to the Barcelona template that has served them so well over recent seasons.
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Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Thursday, 9 August 2012
The future - I've seen it
Bored of Barcelona and tiki-taka? Tough. There's more of it coming - much more.
Last night, Huddersfield Town completed their pre-season schedule with a game at home to Barcelona B. It not being often that the Catalan behemoth sends a team to West Yorkshire, so the radio station broke with tradition and sent a team to cover the match live.
Of course we weren't going to see the established stars. We weren't going to see the big hitters from last season's B team that finished eighth in the Segunda Division given the first team's pre-season tours and the burden that places on squad resources. Town went in with what appears as close to a first XI as any of us could guess at, though with striker Lee Novak deployed on the right of a five-man midfield. If that was supposed to overwhelm the Barca whippersnappers, it didn't.
From the off, Barca B did what Barca teams do - hog the ball, knock it about patiently, try and create openings and, if none become apparent, retreat and start over. What Huddersfield did do was retain their shape and, as such, kept the magical footballing micro-pixies at bay, but it was only ever going to be a temporary thing. Town held out in the first half and enjoyed a ten-minute spell towards the end where they were, arguably on top. Barca made eight changes at the break and were immediately more incisive. This time, Town's spell was just five minutes at the end, by which time they were 2-0 down to a Gerard Deulofeu penalty and Sergio Araujo's goal after an incisive move up the middle.
So what did we learn? About Town, not a great deal other than they look a solid outfit and won't have to face a team like that too often in the Championship. About Barcelona, we learned that their players are inculcated from a very early age in the style of play we've become accustomed to seeing and that their ability to find players from outside the club to fit that style is very effective indeed.
You have to hope that Town are sitting down today and poring over the lessons available to them. Denied the services of Cristian Tello, Thiago Alcantara, Rafinha, Carlos Carmona and others, this wasn't Barca B's first eleven. It mattered little. Again, it's all about respect for and retention of possession and it starts at the back.
In England, if a centre-back gets to a ball first and launches it into the stands, he's applauded. This has to change. It's a cheap surrender of possession which the Spanish didn't do. Instead, being good on the ball having played futsal and been coached into making the weaker side less obviously weak, it's a little drag back or a trick to create some space and play an easy pass, retaining the ball for his side. Neither do goalkeepers or defenders play low-percentage, hopeful punts into the opposition half. Why would you, when there's little guarantee of retaining the ball? It makes no sense.
The rest is purely coaching and arguments that have been had time and time again, usually when England have been dumped out of a major championship by a side that is vastly technically superior. It's futsal, it's skills, not pace and size and winning games on full-sized pitches in a mudbath. We hear all this on such a regular basis, yet nothing changes. It's not the English way.
Tiki-taka is not a panacea. It will not work every time. However, it's philosophy of ball retention, patience and passing is more likely to produce good results than up-and-at-em, two banks of four traditional English football. Barcelona's system isn't the perfect one - there's no such thing - but all great football dynasties have - from Austria's wunderteam, the mighty Magyars, Rinus Michels' Ajax and Netherlands sides to modern Barcelona - been based around respect for possession and technical excellence. The former cannot come without the latter and we're all pissing in the wind to a certain extent until the conclusions of these regular lessons are put into practice.
It's a long road, but you've got to start somewhere. Agustinho, Deulofeu, Kiko, Alejandro Grimaldo, Sergi Gomez, Carles Planas did not emerge from the womb with tiki-taka stamped across their DNA. There's been a tremendous amount of work done to mould them into that method.
And if you find Barcelona's approach boring, I suggest you don't watch European football any more. There's another generation all set and ready to go.
Last night, Huddersfield Town completed their pre-season schedule with a game at home to Barcelona B. It not being often that the Catalan behemoth sends a team to West Yorkshire, so the radio station broke with tradition and sent a team to cover the match live.
Of course we weren't going to see the established stars. We weren't going to see the big hitters from last season's B team that finished eighth in the Segunda Division given the first team's pre-season tours and the burden that places on squad resources. Town went in with what appears as close to a first XI as any of us could guess at, though with striker Lee Novak deployed on the right of a five-man midfield. If that was supposed to overwhelm the Barca whippersnappers, it didn't.
From the off, Barca B did what Barca teams do - hog the ball, knock it about patiently, try and create openings and, if none become apparent, retreat and start over. What Huddersfield did do was retain their shape and, as such, kept the magical footballing micro-pixies at bay, but it was only ever going to be a temporary thing. Town held out in the first half and enjoyed a ten-minute spell towards the end where they were, arguably on top. Barca made eight changes at the break and were immediately more incisive. This time, Town's spell was just five minutes at the end, by which time they were 2-0 down to a Gerard Deulofeu penalty and Sergio Araujo's goal after an incisive move up the middle.
So what did we learn? About Town, not a great deal other than they look a solid outfit and won't have to face a team like that too often in the Championship. About Barcelona, we learned that their players are inculcated from a very early age in the style of play we've become accustomed to seeing and that their ability to find players from outside the club to fit that style is very effective indeed.
You have to hope that Town are sitting down today and poring over the lessons available to them. Denied the services of Cristian Tello, Thiago Alcantara, Rafinha, Carlos Carmona and others, this wasn't Barca B's first eleven. It mattered little. Again, it's all about respect for and retention of possession and it starts at the back.
In England, if a centre-back gets to a ball first and launches it into the stands, he's applauded. This has to change. It's a cheap surrender of possession which the Spanish didn't do. Instead, being good on the ball having played futsal and been coached into making the weaker side less obviously weak, it's a little drag back or a trick to create some space and play an easy pass, retaining the ball for his side. Neither do goalkeepers or defenders play low-percentage, hopeful punts into the opposition half. Why would you, when there's little guarantee of retaining the ball? It makes no sense.
The rest is purely coaching and arguments that have been had time and time again, usually when England have been dumped out of a major championship by a side that is vastly technically superior. It's futsal, it's skills, not pace and size and winning games on full-sized pitches in a mudbath. We hear all this on such a regular basis, yet nothing changes. It's not the English way.
Tiki-taka is not a panacea. It will not work every time. However, it's philosophy of ball retention, patience and passing is more likely to produce good results than up-and-at-em, two banks of four traditional English football. Barcelona's system isn't the perfect one - there's no such thing - but all great football dynasties have - from Austria's wunderteam, the mighty Magyars, Rinus Michels' Ajax and Netherlands sides to modern Barcelona - been based around respect for possession and technical excellence. The former cannot come without the latter and we're all pissing in the wind to a certain extent until the conclusions of these regular lessons are put into practice.
It's a long road, but you've got to start somewhere. Agustinho, Deulofeu, Kiko, Alejandro Grimaldo, Sergi Gomez, Carles Planas did not emerge from the womb with tiki-taka stamped across their DNA. There's been a tremendous amount of work done to mould them into that method.
And if you find Barcelona's approach boring, I suggest you don't watch European football any more. There's another generation all set and ready to go.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
I don't know much about art, but I know what I like
Art is entirely subjective. For every piece lauded by all and recognised as Good Art - the Mona Lisa, say - there's a piece of brutalist architecture like Birmingham Library, unloved by many but also recognised as an exemplar of it's type. Modern art is even more divisive and for every acclaimed Antony Gormley statue there's an Eduardo Paolozzi head that remains unseen by many, praised by few and loved by even fewer. For every one of Dali's melting clocks that adorn the walls of students, there's also something like his Portrait Of My Dead Brother, a dark, disturbing piece, but also utterly compelling.
Football, we are told, is art. Barcelona, we are told, are the Flemish Masters of their day. But the art they produce is only one interpretation. Widely acclaimed and admired it may be, but it's not the only way to produce something that someone, somewhere will love. Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. Some styles may have more aesthetic appeal to a mass audience and be easier on the eye, but that's not to say that alternative methods of achieving the same goal are worthless or devalued.
What Chelsea did at the Nou Camp was not pretty, but there are plenty of other things it wasn't as well: dull, ineffective, unworthy. It wasn't some major tactical masterplan, rather a case of needs-must and pragmatic determination brought on by events (stupidity and misfortune in equally large measures) that left them without either of their first-choice centre-backs. Whatever else had to happen to ensure that it worked did and it's that confluence of circumstances that makes it something worth celebrating.
Football, we are told, is art. Barcelona, we are told, are the Flemish Masters of their day. But the art they produce is only one interpretation. Widely acclaimed and admired it may be, but it's not the only way to produce something that someone, somewhere will love. Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. Some styles may have more aesthetic appeal to a mass audience and be easier on the eye, but that's not to say that alternative methods of achieving the same goal are worthless or devalued.
What Chelsea did at the Nou Camp was not pretty, but there are plenty of other things it wasn't as well: dull, ineffective, unworthy. It wasn't some major tactical masterplan, rather a case of needs-must and pragmatic determination brought on by events (stupidity and misfortune in equally large measures) that left them without either of their first-choice centre-backs. Whatever else had to happen to ensure that it worked did and it's that confluence of circumstances that makes it something worth celebrating.
Monday, 16 April 2012
The banality of brilliance
Despotic regimes the world over have displayed how evil can be utterly banal. Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil describes that beautifully. A dystopian, authoritarian regime drowns it's subjects in bureauracy, the hoops to jump through and sheer misery of getting anything done grinds the populace down. The only escape is dreams. That desire for escape is seen through the eyes of Jonathan Pryce's Sam Lowry and (spoiler alert) ends with him humming the film's theme song while in a catatonic stupor.
Last Wednesaday; Barcelona 4-0 Getafe. Lionel Messi bagged one - it was sublime, as ever - Alexis Sanchez got a couple, one set up by Messi. Pedro wrapped it up with a fourth. It was Barcelona. It was an outstanding performance, but it's not going to be reported as such. Instead, words like 'routine' will be used because this is routine for Barcelona and that's sad. Such sustained brilliance has become standard, banal, borderline boring.
Life in the age of Guardiola's brilliant Barcelona hasn't quite been the dystopian nightmare imagined by Gilliam, but instead of having our collective spirit as football fans crushed by the weight of the bureaucratic machinations of state, we are instead assailed daily by ream after ream of eulogising copy from the fourth estate. It becomes harder and harder to bash out a piece on how good they've been because they do it so often. Pundits repeat themselves endlessly and flounder as they try to come up with another superlative to describe Messi's dancing feet, broad smile and another delicate chip to set or extend yet another record.
It's not Barcelona's fault. This is the culmination of a plan long in the making and the ingredients are all there to keep this up for some time yet. It's not the fault of the press as they have a duty to write something, even when it feels like it's all been said before. It's not even the fault of every other football team out there as there are myriad ways of playing the game, none of which are more correct than any other for so long as the game remains a contest about which side can get the round bally thing into the back of the netty thing the most times. It's not evil, but it is a plan for world domination only without the hollowed-out volcano lair and the white cat on the lap. And it has become normal, staid, routine, run-of-the-mill and, yes, banal.
And there we sit, glued to the TV, gently humming our own end credits to ourselves as we watch Barcelona eviscerate some hapless lamb thrown to the slaughter, slowly descending into a catatonic stupor.
Last Wednesaday; Barcelona 4-0 Getafe. Lionel Messi bagged one - it was sublime, as ever - Alexis Sanchez got a couple, one set up by Messi. Pedro wrapped it up with a fourth. It was Barcelona. It was an outstanding performance, but it's not going to be reported as such. Instead, words like 'routine' will be used because this is routine for Barcelona and that's sad. Such sustained brilliance has become standard, banal, borderline boring.
Life in the age of Guardiola's brilliant Barcelona hasn't quite been the dystopian nightmare imagined by Gilliam, but instead of having our collective spirit as football fans crushed by the weight of the bureaucratic machinations of state, we are instead assailed daily by ream after ream of eulogising copy from the fourth estate. It becomes harder and harder to bash out a piece on how good they've been because they do it so often. Pundits repeat themselves endlessly and flounder as they try to come up with another superlative to describe Messi's dancing feet, broad smile and another delicate chip to set or extend yet another record.
It's not Barcelona's fault. This is the culmination of a plan long in the making and the ingredients are all there to keep this up for some time yet. It's not the fault of the press as they have a duty to write something, even when it feels like it's all been said before. It's not even the fault of every other football team out there as there are myriad ways of playing the game, none of which are more correct than any other for so long as the game remains a contest about which side can get the round bally thing into the back of the netty thing the most times. It's not evil, but it is a plan for world domination only without the hollowed-out volcano lair and the white cat on the lap. And it has become normal, staid, routine, run-of-the-mill and, yes, banal.
And there we sit, glued to the TV, gently humming our own end credits to ourselves as we watch Barcelona eviscerate some hapless lamb thrown to the slaughter, slowly descending into a catatonic stupor.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Champions League ennui
The quarter-finals of this season's Champions League have come and gone with barely a flicker of recognition on the Euroballs interest-o-meter. Is this a one-off or something more serious?
There's no doubt that the modern structure of Europe's premier cup competition lends itself to this, set up as it seems to be in order to ensure the passage of the same few big clubs. The revenues clubs generate from participation also helps ensure that the same clubs are more likely to be back time after time. Michel Platini's tinkering with the qualifying rounds has helped us see more national champions in the group stages and that's been slightly more refreshing - APOEL's progress has been this season's highlight - but once we get to the knockout rounds, the gulf between the have-a-bits and the have-bloody-loads is horribly exposed.
But for that sense of familiarity with the regular appearances of a small number of clubs in the last eight, this year has felt even duller. While we cheered APOEL through their last-16 tie against Lyon, Real Madrid were always going to be a step too far and the other ties lacked any sense of jeopardy. Milan playing for a 0-0 at home was never a good idea with the return at the Nou Camp and Barcelona duly got the expected result. FC Bayern eased Marseille aside home and away without either side looking particularly bothered and Chelsea did likewise against Benfica. Broadcasters here in the UK tried their best to engage viewers in Chelsea's games, but we were still too busy wishing it was Napoli and lamenting their inability to finish the job at Stamford Bridge after giving them a touch at the San Paolo. We tried watching, but as soon as Chelsea scored in Lisbon, the game was pretty much up. In the return, an early penalty all but sealed the deal and we flicked over to re-runs of Man vs Food on Dave*.
There is intrigue left. The British press are trying to whip up something about a Chelsea/Barcelona rivalry after a semi-final between the two a few years ago that featured a poor refereeing performance. We're not buying it and presume that Barcelona couldn't really give a flying one. Moreover, if form in the quarter-finals suggests anything, it's that the Catalans will be in the final in Munich after a comfortable victory. That would mean that they either face their old rivals or Bayern get to play a final on their own ground.
The Bavarians have made much of the fact that they're hosting the final and why not? They have it all to do to beat Real Madrid to get there, but let's hope they do and save us from two weeks of the usual bollocks that accompanies el clasico that, frankly, is getting tiresome coming as it does just half a dozen times a year. The Mourinho 'mind games', the hunt for new Lionel Messi-related superlatives, the endless wittering oh merciful god make it stop. So at least we will have a new thing to experience during the semi-finals: rooting for FC Hollywood to rescue the Champions League. Urgh.
* - Note for overseas readers. Yes, there is a TV channel in the UK called Dave. No, us neither.
There's no doubt that the modern structure of Europe's premier cup competition lends itself to this, set up as it seems to be in order to ensure the passage of the same few big clubs. The revenues clubs generate from participation also helps ensure that the same clubs are more likely to be back time after time. Michel Platini's tinkering with the qualifying rounds has helped us see more national champions in the group stages and that's been slightly more refreshing - APOEL's progress has been this season's highlight - but once we get to the knockout rounds, the gulf between the have-a-bits and the have-bloody-loads is horribly exposed.
But for that sense of familiarity with the regular appearances of a small number of clubs in the last eight, this year has felt even duller. While we cheered APOEL through their last-16 tie against Lyon, Real Madrid were always going to be a step too far and the other ties lacked any sense of jeopardy. Milan playing for a 0-0 at home was never a good idea with the return at the Nou Camp and Barcelona duly got the expected result. FC Bayern eased Marseille aside home and away without either side looking particularly bothered and Chelsea did likewise against Benfica. Broadcasters here in the UK tried their best to engage viewers in Chelsea's games, but we were still too busy wishing it was Napoli and lamenting their inability to finish the job at Stamford Bridge after giving them a touch at the San Paolo. We tried watching, but as soon as Chelsea scored in Lisbon, the game was pretty much up. In the return, an early penalty all but sealed the deal and we flicked over to re-runs of Man vs Food on Dave*.
There is intrigue left. The British press are trying to whip up something about a Chelsea/Barcelona rivalry after a semi-final between the two a few years ago that featured a poor refereeing performance. We're not buying it and presume that Barcelona couldn't really give a flying one. Moreover, if form in the quarter-finals suggests anything, it's that the Catalans will be in the final in Munich after a comfortable victory. That would mean that they either face their old rivals or Bayern get to play a final on their own ground.
The Bavarians have made much of the fact that they're hosting the final and why not? They have it all to do to beat Real Madrid to get there, but let's hope they do and save us from two weeks of the usual bollocks that accompanies el clasico that, frankly, is getting tiresome coming as it does just half a dozen times a year. The Mourinho 'mind games', the hunt for new Lionel Messi-related superlatives, the endless wittering oh merciful god make it stop. So at least we will have a new thing to experience during the semi-finals: rooting for FC Hollywood to rescue the Champions League. Urgh.
* - Note for overseas readers. Yes, there is a TV channel in the UK called Dave. No, us neither.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Unbelievable Jeff! #12
What's not unbelievable, Jeff, is that Lionel Messi features in this clip. But it does contain three of our favourite things about the game: a great through-ball, a great first touch and a goal.
Unbelievable Jeff!
Unbelievable Jeff!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Barcelona dominate in Yokohama
Barcelona dominated the Club World Cup final from first to last and handed Santos a lesson into the bargain as they added yet another trophy to the frankly ridiculous collection they're building up in what will no doubt become known as the Guardiola era.
The Catalans dominated from the off and it proved something of a surprise that it took a full quarter of an hour before they took the lead. They did with a quite outstanding goal; Xavi with a sublime touch and Lionel Messi with a delightful, cheeky, impish, just plain sexy chip over the stranded Cabral. Xavi turned finisher a few moments later as the Blaugrana carved open their South American rivals, Dani Alves prominent on the right. There was so much space on the flanks, the ball came in from the right and Xavi was on the edge of the box to sweep it home.
A goalmouth scramble - Barca can even make those look amazing - saw the third goal come on the stroke of half time. A wonderful back-heel from Messi played in Alves down the right and the ball found it's way, via half a dozen other feet, to Cesc Fabregas, unmarked on the back stick, and he passed it across goal and inside the far post. Santos trudged off the field, heads on chests, already a beaten side.
The second half started as the first ended with Fabregas starting the move and the eventual shot grazing the outside of the post via Cabral's fingertips. Andres Iniesta was almost a peripheral figure in the first half, but he too went close after a stereotypical passage of intricate passing, but aside from that, Barcelona were content to keep the ball away from Santos and preserve the lead they'd built. The third goal had killed the game.
A fourth eventually arrived with eight minutes to go, Alves playing Messi in whose initial control was poor, but it served a purpose in drawing Cabral out of his goal allowing the little Argentine to take the ball round him and pass it into the net.
This was as comprehensive a win as it's possible to see. Barca, with a staggering 72% of possession, starved Santos. They were clinical in the first half, pragmatic in the second. Xavi's control and pass for the opener was pure porn and Santos were a beaten side from there on in. It's difficult to be too critical of the Brazilians: they were just beaten by a far superior side.
Earlier in the day, Asian champions Al Sadd won the third-place play-off against Kashiwa Reysol on penalties after a dismal 0-0 draw.
The Catalans dominated from the off and it proved something of a surprise that it took a full quarter of an hour before they took the lead. They did with a quite outstanding goal; Xavi with a sublime touch and Lionel Messi with a delightful, cheeky, impish, just plain sexy chip over the stranded Cabral. Xavi turned finisher a few moments later as the Blaugrana carved open their South American rivals, Dani Alves prominent on the right. There was so much space on the flanks, the ball came in from the right and Xavi was on the edge of the box to sweep it home.
A goalmouth scramble - Barca can even make those look amazing - saw the third goal come on the stroke of half time. A wonderful back-heel from Messi played in Alves down the right and the ball found it's way, via half a dozen other feet, to Cesc Fabregas, unmarked on the back stick, and he passed it across goal and inside the far post. Santos trudged off the field, heads on chests, already a beaten side.
The second half started as the first ended with Fabregas starting the move and the eventual shot grazing the outside of the post via Cabral's fingertips. Andres Iniesta was almost a peripheral figure in the first half, but he too went close after a stereotypical passage of intricate passing, but aside from that, Barcelona were content to keep the ball away from Santos and preserve the lead they'd built. The third goal had killed the game.
A fourth eventually arrived with eight minutes to go, Alves playing Messi in whose initial control was poor, but it served a purpose in drawing Cabral out of his goal allowing the little Argentine to take the ball round him and pass it into the net.
This was as comprehensive a win as it's possible to see. Barca, with a staggering 72% of possession, starved Santos. They were clinical in the first half, pragmatic in the second. Xavi's control and pass for the opener was pure porn and Santos were a beaten side from there on in. It's difficult to be too critical of the Brazilians: they were just beaten by a far superior side.
Earlier in the day, Asian champions Al Sadd won the third-place play-off against Kashiwa Reysol on penalties after a dismal 0-0 draw.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Barça Cruise Through To Final
Al-Sadd 0-4 FC Barcelona
Barcelona have booked their place in the FIFA Club World Cup final an easy 4-0 victory over Qatari side Al-Sadd. It was be nothing more than a training session for the reigning UEFA Champions League winners as two first half goals from Adriano set Pep Guardiola's team on the road to victory. Second half strikes from Seydou Keita and Maxwell wrapped up the vitory but it was marred David Villa's broken tibia.
With Lionel Messi, Villa and Pedro leading the charge, Barcelona dominated possession but with twenty five minutes gone they were gifted the lead. Former Portsmouth man Nadir Belhadj passed the ball back to goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr and the keeper simply blasted the clearance into Adriano and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Then six minutes before the break, came the injury to Villa as he appeared to catch his studs on the turf and fall to the ground in agony. A blow not only for his club side but his national side with UEFA Euro 2012 only six months away. It didn't deter Barcelona as Aadriano doubled the lead just four mnutes after the departure of Villa. Belhadj switched off and allowed Thiago Alcântara to gain possession his suiperb pass found the well timed run of Adriano and the Brazilian full back smashed the ball home passed the helpless Saqr for his second of the game.
It was business as usual in the second half as the Catalan giants dominated possession and made it seem like the Al-Sadd side, clearly out of their depth, were constantly chasing shadows. Just after the hour, Lionel Messi set up Seydou Keita for the third with a fantastic through ball from the Argentinian superstar. The with eight minutes left substitute Maxwell capitalized on a super through ball from Thiago Alcântara and some more generous defending and goalkeeping from the Qatari side as Mohamed Saqr did best to avoid the ball rather than stop it from going into the net. Santos now await Barcelona in Sunday's final, who will hopefully provide better opposition than the AFC Champions League winners. Al-Sadd will face Kashima Reysol in the 3/4th place play off, a game they are likely to lose unless they play a hell of a lot better
Barcelona have booked their place in the FIFA Club World Cup final an easy 4-0 victory over Qatari side Al-Sadd. It was be nothing more than a training session for the reigning UEFA Champions League winners as two first half goals from Adriano set Pep Guardiola's team on the road to victory. Second half strikes from Seydou Keita and Maxwell wrapped up the vitory but it was marred David Villa's broken tibia.
With Lionel Messi, Villa and Pedro leading the charge, Barcelona dominated possession but with twenty five minutes gone they were gifted the lead. Former Portsmouth man Nadir Belhadj passed the ball back to goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr and the keeper simply blasted the clearance into Adriano and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Then six minutes before the break, came the injury to Villa as he appeared to catch his studs on the turf and fall to the ground in agony. A blow not only for his club side but his national side with UEFA Euro 2012 only six months away. It didn't deter Barcelona as Aadriano doubled the lead just four mnutes after the departure of Villa. Belhadj switched off and allowed Thiago Alcântara to gain possession his suiperb pass found the well timed run of Adriano and the Brazilian full back smashed the ball home passed the helpless Saqr for his second of the game.
It was business as usual in the second half as the Catalan giants dominated possession and made it seem like the Al-Sadd side, clearly out of their depth, were constantly chasing shadows. Just after the hour, Lionel Messi set up Seydou Keita for the third with a fantastic through ball from the Argentinian superstar. The with eight minutes left substitute Maxwell capitalized on a super through ball from Thiago Alcântara and some more generous defending and goalkeeping from the Qatari side as Mohamed Saqr did best to avoid the ball rather than stop it from going into the net. Santos now await Barcelona in Sunday's final, who will hopefully provide better opposition than the AFC Champions League winners. Al-Sadd will face Kashima Reysol in the 3/4th place play off, a game they are likely to lose unless they play a hell of a lot better
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Barcelona aim to emulate Anzhi
After Samuel Eto'o claimed in a major broadsheet interview that his new club, Anzhi Makhachkala are aiming to emulate the Barcelona model, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell told us "that's funny, because we're trying to emulate Anzhi".
In a candid interview, Rosell explained his vision for how the self-styled 'mes que un club' could go about achieving this. "For starters", began Rosell, "we're going to totally scrap that outdated mechanism by which we're owned by our members and somehow remain responsible to them. To this end, like Anzhi, we're going to find a trumped up gangster-turned-oil baron and flog the club to him. Anzhi have Suleyman Kerimov, Chelsea have Abramovich, Terek have Ramzan Kadyrov and Neuchatel Xamax have that loony Bulat Chagaev. I know that sounds like all the Russian warlords are spoken for, but I'm sure we can find another one".
Another feature of Anzhi is that they play in an impoverished region with the constant threat of attacks by Islamic separatist terrorists. "We will relocate the club to somewhere where we can maximise the difference in the wages of our players compared to the local average, just so the whole exercise looks as grotesque as possible", Rosell went on, "and we'll fly the players in from their gilded mansions in northern Spain for matches and straight back out again in case they have to mix with the hoi-polloi". Our man probed further to see if any locations had actually been scouted and Rosell responded by saying "We've had positive talks with the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. Grinding poverty, a constant threat of low- to mid-level violence - I tell you, the people of Makhachkala haven't seen anything like this".
In a candid interview, Rosell explained his vision for how the self-styled 'mes que un club' could go about achieving this. "For starters", began Rosell, "we're going to totally scrap that outdated mechanism by which we're owned by our members and somehow remain responsible to them. To this end, like Anzhi, we're going to find a trumped up gangster-turned-oil baron and flog the club to him. Anzhi have Suleyman Kerimov, Chelsea have Abramovich, Terek have Ramzan Kadyrov and Neuchatel Xamax have that loony Bulat Chagaev. I know that sounds like all the Russian warlords are spoken for, but I'm sure we can find another one".
Another feature of Anzhi is that they play in an impoverished region with the constant threat of attacks by Islamic separatist terrorists. "We will relocate the club to somewhere where we can maximise the difference in the wages of our players compared to the local average, just so the whole exercise looks as grotesque as possible", Rosell went on, "and we'll fly the players in from their gilded mansions in northern Spain for matches and straight back out again in case they have to mix with the hoi-polloi". Our man probed further to see if any locations had actually been scouted and Rosell responded by saying "We've had positive talks with the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. Grinding poverty, a constant threat of low- to mid-level violence - I tell you, the people of Makhachkala haven't seen anything like this".
Thursday, 28 July 2011
PSG join legion of Europe's biggest dick swingers
It's taken a while for the Qatari investment in Paris St Germain to really bear fruit, but today the club announced that with their new backers, they're finally ready to swing their dicks like the continents established big spenders.
The capture of Javier Pastore for a dick-swingingly large €45m puts PSG firmly in the big dick-swinging leagues and they look set to remain there for a while. "As the only club in Europe's sexiest capital", said PSG dick-swinging spokesman Richard Swingeur, "it's about time we started swinging our dicks with best from elsewhere. This move cements us as the biggest dick-swingers in La République and over the next few years, we aim to swing our dicks against the best the rest of the continent".
Of course, Qatari money is also helping Barcelona to continue swinging their dicks while investment from neighbouring Abu Dhabi has been the source of large amounts of dick swinging at Manchester City. Both those club showed their dick-swinging abilities remain undiminished in light of the new arrival on the dick-swinging scene with the big dick-swinging captures of Alexis Sanchez and Segio Agüero respectively.
But previous holders of the European dick-swinging record refuse to take the new arrival from France lightly. Real Madrid vowed to carry on swinging their dicks in a statement released to the press. "The world knows how prepared we are to swing our dicks and when it comes to dick-swinging competitions, we bow to no-one". Meanwhile in London, Chelsea seemed more reticent to rest on their laurels when a spokesman said "We've swung our dicks plenty since the current chairman arrived and everybody knows that if we wanted to swing our dicks we could do. We're just choosing not to."
A word of warning over excessive dick-swinging did come from UEFA through Dutch dick-swinging supremo Kok Waggler. "We warn clubs against excessive dick-swinging. It's shown to be unsustainable and that is why we have introduced our Dick-swinging Fair Play rules to prevent any club gaining an advantage by having a bigger dick and being willing to swing it harder and longer".
The capture of Javier Pastore for a dick-swingingly large €45m puts PSG firmly in the big dick-swinging leagues and they look set to remain there for a while. "As the only club in Europe's sexiest capital", said PSG dick-swinging spokesman Richard Swingeur, "it's about time we started swinging our dicks with best from elsewhere. This move cements us as the biggest dick-swingers in La République and over the next few years, we aim to swing our dicks against the best the rest of the continent".
Of course, Qatari money is also helping Barcelona to continue swinging their dicks while investment from neighbouring Abu Dhabi has been the source of large amounts of dick swinging at Manchester City. Both those club showed their dick-swinging abilities remain undiminished in light of the new arrival on the dick-swinging scene with the big dick-swinging captures of Alexis Sanchez and Segio Agüero respectively.
But previous holders of the European dick-swinging record refuse to take the new arrival from France lightly. Real Madrid vowed to carry on swinging their dicks in a statement released to the press. "The world knows how prepared we are to swing our dicks and when it comes to dick-swinging competitions, we bow to no-one". Meanwhile in London, Chelsea seemed more reticent to rest on their laurels when a spokesman said "We've swung our dicks plenty since the current chairman arrived and everybody knows that if we wanted to swing our dicks we could do. We're just choosing not to."
A word of warning over excessive dick-swinging did come from UEFA through Dutch dick-swinging supremo Kok Waggler. "We warn clubs against excessive dick-swinging. It's shown to be unsustainable and that is why we have introduced our Dick-swinging Fair Play rules to prevent any club gaining an advantage by having a bigger dick and being willing to swing it harder and longer".
Monday, 16 March 2009
La Liga Round 27: Huntelaar helps himself
Almeria 0 Barcelona 2
Atletico Madrid 3 Villarreal 2
Espanyol 3 Mallorca 3
Malaga 2 Sevilla 2
Racing Santander 5 Numancia 0
Real Betis 0 Osasuna 0
Sporting Gijon 3 Deportivo La Coruna 2
Valladolid 1 Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Real Madrid 5
Valencia 1 Recreativo Huelva 1
Barcelona remain top by six points following a 2-0 win at Almeria. The Andalucian club were not the first and won’t be the last to milk an encounter with the Catalans – reports say seats were being sold for as much as £270, which is quite simply criminal behaviour – and as a result only 9,000 turned up. Guardiola’s men dominated the game but only found their way to goal late on, Bojan Krkic scoring a quick-fire double to secure the blaugrauna 3 points and silence some of his own doubters. The talented youngster has endured a tough season but this match has hopefully given him some confidence.
Real Madrid remain in second after a controversial encounter at the San Mames which saw them finish 5-2 winners. They exorcised the week’s horror show at Anfield with a dominant display, Huntelaar (2), Robben, Heinze and Higuain all getting on the scoresheet. Heinze had earlier put through his own net and Llorente had drawn Athletic level only for the home side to implode after Fran Yeste was sent off. 13 cards were shown in all in the match.
Sevilla remain in third, but have now dropped off to 9 points behind Real following a draw at Malaga. Tapia’s men raced into a 2-goal lead through the veteran former Pichichi winner Salva Ballesta, only for Sevilla to storm back second half, first Kanoute converted Diego Perrotti’s through-ball then Luis Fabiano headed in Adriano’s cross. In between, Javier Calleja was sent off for the home side who are two points away from the Champions League spots.
Atletico Madrid bounced back from their midweek knock-out by beating Villarreal in an entertaining match at the Calderon. Mati Fernandez gave the visitors the lead against the run of play, before Cani doubled their lead just after half time. Diego Lopez had been in inspired form for the Yellow Submarine but he could do nothing to stop Kun Aguero cutting the arrears, or Forlan’s equalizer after Javi Venta had received his marching orders. Antonio Lopez headed in the winner with 7 minutes to go to send Atletico 5th on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Valencia were once again lacklustre as they were held at home by Recreativo, further increasing Unai Emery’s woes; Valladolid are now just a point behind Los Che as they condemned Getafe to their third straight defeat. Racing hit 5 past a woeful Numancia, with Oscar Serrano and Nikola Zigic helping themselves to braces; Mallorca played out their second 3-3 draw in a week, this time away at Espanyol, a result which means Manzano’s men are three points above the drop; Sporting Gijon turned over Deportivo in Asturias to jump 7 points clear of relegation.
Atletico Madrid 3 Villarreal 2
Espanyol 3 Mallorca 3
Malaga 2 Sevilla 2
Racing Santander 5 Numancia 0
Real Betis 0 Osasuna 0
Sporting Gijon 3 Deportivo La Coruna 2
Valladolid 1 Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Real Madrid 5
Valencia 1 Recreativo Huelva 1
Barcelona remain top by six points following a 2-0 win at Almeria. The Andalucian club were not the first and won’t be the last to milk an encounter with the Catalans – reports say seats were being sold for as much as £270, which is quite simply criminal behaviour – and as a result only 9,000 turned up. Guardiola’s men dominated the game but only found their way to goal late on, Bojan Krkic scoring a quick-fire double to secure the blaugrauna 3 points and silence some of his own doubters. The talented youngster has endured a tough season but this match has hopefully given him some confidence.
Real Madrid remain in second after a controversial encounter at the San Mames which saw them finish 5-2 winners. They exorcised the week’s horror show at Anfield with a dominant display, Huntelaar (2), Robben, Heinze and Higuain all getting on the scoresheet. Heinze had earlier put through his own net and Llorente had drawn Athletic level only for the home side to implode after Fran Yeste was sent off. 13 cards were shown in all in the match.
Sevilla remain in third, but have now dropped off to 9 points behind Real following a draw at Malaga. Tapia’s men raced into a 2-goal lead through the veteran former Pichichi winner Salva Ballesta, only for Sevilla to storm back second half, first Kanoute converted Diego Perrotti’s through-ball then Luis Fabiano headed in Adriano’s cross. In between, Javier Calleja was sent off for the home side who are two points away from the Champions League spots.
Atletico Madrid bounced back from their midweek knock-out by beating Villarreal in an entertaining match at the Calderon. Mati Fernandez gave the visitors the lead against the run of play, before Cani doubled their lead just after half time. Diego Lopez had been in inspired form for the Yellow Submarine but he could do nothing to stop Kun Aguero cutting the arrears, or Forlan’s equalizer after Javi Venta had received his marching orders. Antonio Lopez headed in the winner with 7 minutes to go to send Atletico 5th on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Valencia were once again lacklustre as they were held at home by Recreativo, further increasing Unai Emery’s woes; Valladolid are now just a point behind Los Che as they condemned Getafe to their third straight defeat. Racing hit 5 past a woeful Numancia, with Oscar Serrano and Nikola Zigic helping themselves to braces; Mallorca played out their second 3-3 draw in a week, this time away at Espanyol, a result which means Manzano’s men are three points above the drop; Sporting Gijon turned over Deportivo in Asturias to jump 7 points clear of relegation.
Monday, 23 February 2009
La Liga Round 24 Review: Pericos shock Barca in derby
Saturday 21/02
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Monday, 16 February 2009
La Liga Round 23: Raul record helps to close gap
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Getafe C.F
Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 0 Osasuna
Espanyol 0 - 2 Sevilla
Sporting de Gijón 0 - 4 Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Recreativo Huelva
Almeria 3 - 2 Valladolid
C.D Numancia 0 - 1 Mallorca
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Villarreal
Real Betis Balompié 2 - 2 Barcelona
Valencia 1 - 1 Málaga
Real Madrid breezed past Sporting Gijon to close the gap at the top to a mere 10 points (snigger) and Raul also scored twice to break Di Stefano's league record for Real Madrid, a great achievement for the number seven. Sporting were outclassed, offering little resistance as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar also recorded his first Merengues goal. Juande Ramos once again scored a clean sheet, his 8th consecutive performance as such, and his side did not seem affected at all by the absence of Arjen Robben. In his place stepped Marcelo, who looked far more comfortable in a more advanced position than he ever did at left-back earlier in the season.
The gap is closed because on Saturday Barcelona recorded something of a surprise draw at Betis. Paco Chaparro's men, buoyed by their derby victory last week, raced into a two goal lead through Melli and ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez. Samuel Eto'o scored twice, including from the spot, two level things up but it showed that Barcelona are not infallible, especially when Messi and Henry don't start. Both sides had chances to win but Ricardo was in excellent form between the sticks for Betis and a draw was the least they deserved.
Sevilla left it late to record an important win at Espanyol which alleviates some of the pressure on Manolo Jiminez. Los Rojiblancos had lost their previous three games including last week's painful derby defeat, but they were able to somewhat exorcise those demons here. They were helped by an Espanyol side whose profligacy seems to know no bounds. Luis Garcia, the striker who hasn't scored since October, was the main offender missing a hatful of chances to leave Mauricio Pochettino exasperated and still looking for his first win in charge at the fifth time of asking. Two goals in the last six minutes from Fredi Kanoute had an air of inevitability about them and Los Pericos are winless in 14 and as a result, finish the weekend bottom of the table, 3 points adrift.
Valencia and Malaga played out a draw, David Villa gave the home side the lead before Raul Albiol put through his own net to equalise. Villarreal and Racing also drew, Zigic gave the verdiblancos the lead only for Santi Cazorla to equalise just before half time. Atletico Madrid were foiled at home to Getafe, Diego Forlan had given Atletico the lead (his third in two) only for Albin to level with two minutes to go. Its a result that means Valencia and Villarreal are level on points in 4th and 5th, Atletico and Malaga two points behind and Sevilla on 41 points in 3rd.
I did say in my preview that Hugo Sanchez can't keep relying on Uche and Negredo to bail his side out but it seems he can after all, so I apologise for wasting your time. Valladolid raced into a two goal lead in Andalucia only for Crusat, Uche and, yes, Negredo to capture three points that means Almeria jump to 13th. To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Deportivo and Osasuna played out a dour 0-0 draw and Mallorca's win in Numancia takes them to third bottom level with Osasuna with Recreativo on 25.
Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 0 Osasuna
Espanyol 0 - 2 Sevilla
Sporting de Gijón 0 - 4 Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Recreativo Huelva
Almeria 3 - 2 Valladolid
C.D Numancia 0 - 1 Mallorca
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Villarreal
Real Betis Balompié 2 - 2 Barcelona
Valencia 1 - 1 Málaga
Real Madrid breezed past Sporting Gijon to close the gap at the top to a mere 10 points (snigger) and Raul also scored twice to break Di Stefano's league record for Real Madrid, a great achievement for the number seven. Sporting were outclassed, offering little resistance as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar also recorded his first Merengues goal. Juande Ramos once again scored a clean sheet, his 8th consecutive performance as such, and his side did not seem affected at all by the absence of Arjen Robben. In his place stepped Marcelo, who looked far more comfortable in a more advanced position than he ever did at left-back earlier in the season.
The gap is closed because on Saturday Barcelona recorded something of a surprise draw at Betis. Paco Chaparro's men, buoyed by their derby victory last week, raced into a two goal lead through Melli and ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez. Samuel Eto'o scored twice, including from the spot, two level things up but it showed that Barcelona are not infallible, especially when Messi and Henry don't start. Both sides had chances to win but Ricardo was in excellent form between the sticks for Betis and a draw was the least they deserved.
Sevilla left it late to record an important win at Espanyol which alleviates some of the pressure on Manolo Jiminez. Los Rojiblancos had lost their previous three games including last week's painful derby defeat, but they were able to somewhat exorcise those demons here. They were helped by an Espanyol side whose profligacy seems to know no bounds. Luis Garcia, the striker who hasn't scored since October, was the main offender missing a hatful of chances to leave Mauricio Pochettino exasperated and still looking for his first win in charge at the fifth time of asking. Two goals in the last six minutes from Fredi Kanoute had an air of inevitability about them and Los Pericos are winless in 14 and as a result, finish the weekend bottom of the table, 3 points adrift.
Valencia and Malaga played out a draw, David Villa gave the home side the lead before Raul Albiol put through his own net to equalise. Villarreal and Racing also drew, Zigic gave the verdiblancos the lead only for Santi Cazorla to equalise just before half time. Atletico Madrid were foiled at home to Getafe, Diego Forlan had given Atletico the lead (his third in two) only for Albin to level with two minutes to go. Its a result that means Valencia and Villarreal are level on points in 4th and 5th, Atletico and Malaga two points behind and Sevilla on 41 points in 3rd.
I did say in my preview that Hugo Sanchez can't keep relying on Uche and Negredo to bail his side out but it seems he can after all, so I apologise for wasting your time. Valladolid raced into a two goal lead in Andalucia only for Crusat, Uche and, yes, Negredo to capture three points that means Almeria jump to 13th. To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Deportivo and Osasuna played out a dour 0-0 draw and Mallorca's win in Numancia takes them to third bottom level with Osasuna with Recreativo on 25.
Monday, 2 February 2009
La Liga Round 21: Barcelona squeeze past Racing
Athletic Bilbao 3-2 Malaga
CD Numancia 0-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Valladolid
Deportivo 3-0 Villarreal
Espanyol 1-1 Recreativo
Osasuna 1-0 Mallorca
Racing 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 2-2 Getafe
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Sevilla
Valencia 3-2 Almeria
On Saturday, Athletic Bilbao hosted Malaga at the San Mames in a game so good, it deserves its own match report. Malaga took the lead in just the third minute, as Albert Luque pounced on a Baha shot and turned it in to subdue the vociferous home crowd. The lead last just over half an hour when Fernando Llorente held up a through-ball, and cut it back for a fabulous strike from Yeste to level up. After the break the visitors regained the lead after a concerted spell of pressure. Duda’s free kick was glanced into the net by Lolo. However, the brilliant Llorente brought the hosts back level with an exquisite turn and finish with 20 minutes to go. Throughout a thoroughly even contest both sides had chances to win, but it was Athletic who triumphed Susaeta’s 85th minute header from Torquera’s cross.
Contrast that game with Saturday’s other match, a rather soporific encounter between Numancia and Real Madrid. The hosts were the better side for long periods, but not for the first time were guilty of squandering good chances – Brit hit the side netting and Del Pino hit the post in the first half – and being punished for their profligacy. Raul pounced on a parried Higuain shot to record is 307th Real Madrid goal (equalling Di Stefano’s record) and then a terrific run and shot from Arjen Robben made it two shortly after. Numancia are pointless in 2009.
On Sunday, Barcelona once again closed that gap back to 12 points over Real Madrid, but only did so thanks to Lionel Messi. The little Argentine wizard came off the bench with his side 1-0 down to Racing following a Nikola Zigic penalty just after half time. Racing had edged a first half by employing a relentless, pressing, physical approach and its fair to say Barcelona didn’t like it – they seemed grossly offended that their opponents didn’t simply lay down and let them score as others have done. Barca were second best before Messi’s introduction, but his two quick goals – including a marvelous volley for the winner – swung it the visitors way and by the end it was all a fatigued Racing side could do to hold on for 2-1, despite the late dismissals of Marquez and Pique.
Sevilla slumped further behind following a lackluster display at Gijon which heaps further pressure on Manolo Jiminez. They are now, in third position, six points behind Real Madrid but have Valencia breathing down their necks. Javier Aguirre is another coach drawing the ire of demanding supporters after his Atletico side went down at home to Valladolid, a result which means they are still winless in 2009 and, thanks to Depor’s win, pushes them out of the European places. Valencia were the beneficiaries of this disarray, their narrow 3-2 win at home to Almeria, with goals from Villa and Joaquin either side of Negredo strikes, putting them in a much improved position.
Villarreal continue to struggle, their 3-0 defeat at Deportivo – thanks to goals from Lafita (2) and Riki – putting their European ambitions (of any nature) in jeopardy. Osasuna scored a priceless win at home to fellow relegation-battlers Mallorca thanks to a Walter Pandiani header in a bad-tempered game in Pamplona; Espanyol and Recre played out a 1-1 stalemate that helps neither and Real Betis managed to throw away a 2-goal advantage at home to Getafe, with strikes from Uche and Soldado rescuing a point for Victor Munoz’s men. The bottom three are now only separated by goal difference with Numancia three points ahead.
CD Numancia 0-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Valladolid
Deportivo 3-0 Villarreal
Espanyol 1-1 Recreativo
Osasuna 1-0 Mallorca
Racing 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 2-2 Getafe
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Sevilla
Valencia 3-2 Almeria
On Saturday, Athletic Bilbao hosted Malaga at the San Mames in a game so good, it deserves its own match report. Malaga took the lead in just the third minute, as Albert Luque pounced on a Baha shot and turned it in to subdue the vociferous home crowd. The lead last just over half an hour when Fernando Llorente held up a through-ball, and cut it back for a fabulous strike from Yeste to level up. After the break the visitors regained the lead after a concerted spell of pressure. Duda’s free kick was glanced into the net by Lolo. However, the brilliant Llorente brought the hosts back level with an exquisite turn and finish with 20 minutes to go. Throughout a thoroughly even contest both sides had chances to win, but it was Athletic who triumphed Susaeta’s 85th minute header from Torquera’s cross.
Contrast that game with Saturday’s other match, a rather soporific encounter between Numancia and Real Madrid. The hosts were the better side for long periods, but not for the first time were guilty of squandering good chances – Brit hit the side netting and Del Pino hit the post in the first half – and being punished for their profligacy. Raul pounced on a parried Higuain shot to record is 307th Real Madrid goal (equalling Di Stefano’s record) and then a terrific run and shot from Arjen Robben made it two shortly after. Numancia are pointless in 2009.
On Sunday, Barcelona once again closed that gap back to 12 points over Real Madrid, but only did so thanks to Lionel Messi. The little Argentine wizard came off the bench with his side 1-0 down to Racing following a Nikola Zigic penalty just after half time. Racing had edged a first half by employing a relentless, pressing, physical approach and its fair to say Barcelona didn’t like it – they seemed grossly offended that their opponents didn’t simply lay down and let them score as others have done. Barca were second best before Messi’s introduction, but his two quick goals – including a marvelous volley for the winner – swung it the visitors way and by the end it was all a fatigued Racing side could do to hold on for 2-1, despite the late dismissals of Marquez and Pique.
Sevilla slumped further behind following a lackluster display at Gijon which heaps further pressure on Manolo Jiminez. They are now, in third position, six points behind Real Madrid but have Valencia breathing down their necks. Javier Aguirre is another coach drawing the ire of demanding supporters after his Atletico side went down at home to Valladolid, a result which means they are still winless in 2009 and, thanks to Depor’s win, pushes them out of the European places. Valencia were the beneficiaries of this disarray, their narrow 3-2 win at home to Almeria, with goals from Villa and Joaquin either side of Negredo strikes, putting them in a much improved position.
Villarreal continue to struggle, their 3-0 defeat at Deportivo – thanks to goals from Lafita (2) and Riki – putting their European ambitions (of any nature) in jeopardy. Osasuna scored a priceless win at home to fellow relegation-battlers Mallorca thanks to a Walter Pandiani header in a bad-tempered game in Pamplona; Espanyol and Recre played out a 1-1 stalemate that helps neither and Real Betis managed to throw away a 2-goal advantage at home to Getafe, with strikes from Uche and Soldado rescuing a point for Victor Munoz’s men. The bottom three are now only separated by goal difference with Numancia three points ahead.
Friday, 30 January 2009
La Liga Round 21 Preview
Saturday January 31
19:00 Athletic Bilbao v Málaga
21:00 C.D Numancia v Real Madrid
Sunday February 1
16:00 Atletico Madrid v Valladolid
16:00 Espanyol v Recreativo Huelva
16:00 Real Betis Balompié v Getafe C.F
16:00 Racing Santander v Barcelona
16:00 Deportivo La Coruna v Villarreal
16:00 Osasuna v Mallorca
18:00 Valencia v Almeria
20:00 Sporting de Gijón v Sevilla
On Saturday Real Madrid, who have been winning of late without playing particularly well, visit Soria to play a Numancia side who are hanging precariously above the drop zone following recent results and are in the middle of the run of fixtures against the top sides. Nevertheless, Real have won six straight league fixtures under Ramos and you would expect this to be a fairly routine victory for Los Merengues.
The first game of the weekend comes from the San Mames where Athletic, fresh from Copa Del Rey success, will look to break down a stubborn Malaga outfit who are unbeaten in six matches and are breathing right down the neck of Atletico in the final European spot. On Sunday, the embattled Javier Aguirre will watch his team play Valladolid. It could not be a better time to play Zortilla’s side, who have taken just one point from a possible 15 in the league. However, with Aguero and Forlan struggling for goals and looking familiarly brittle in defence, it could be a struggle.
Espanyol, who fought valiantly at the Camp Nou on Thursday, welcome Recreativo to the Montjuic in what has all the makings of being an ugly relegation dogfight. Pochettino is unbeaten in his short tenure with Los Pericos and I fancy they’ll grab an important 3 points, even though Recre won last time out against Betis. Speaking of Betis, Paco Chaparro is under pressure there and a defeat at home to Getafe could be the last straw. Betis have the worst home record in the league (5 defeats from 9 – woeful) so Getafe, fresh from their shellacking of Sporting last week, will fancy their chances.
Barcelona make the trip to Santander to play a Racing side who have looked full of confidence since the return of Nikola Zigic up front. Racing’s home form is poor, so Pep Guardiola will still be fairly confident his team can cruise unstoppably on. For Racing, a win, however unlikely, will strengthen their fight for UEFA cup place that looked out of the question in December. Manuel Pellegrini’s Villarreal, who continue to stumble, visit the Riazor to play a Deportivo side wounded from three straight league defeats. Mallorca, who pulled off the result of the week last time with their win over Valencia, visit Osasuna and Gregorio Manzano will be praying the form lasts so they could jump out of the bottom 3. Unai Emery will look to bounce back following league and cup disappointment with a win over Almeria, who have picked up just one away win this season. Finally, Sevilla visit Sporting Gijon which is a simply must-win fixture for Manolo Jiminez’s men if they wish to remain in the top four.
19:00 Athletic Bilbao v Málaga
21:00 C.D Numancia v Real Madrid
Sunday February 1
16:00 Atletico Madrid v Valladolid
16:00 Espanyol v Recreativo Huelva
16:00 Real Betis Balompié v Getafe C.F
16:00 Racing Santander v Barcelona
16:00 Deportivo La Coruna v Villarreal
16:00 Osasuna v Mallorca
18:00 Valencia v Almeria
20:00 Sporting de Gijón v Sevilla
On Saturday Real Madrid, who have been winning of late without playing particularly well, visit Soria to play a Numancia side who are hanging precariously above the drop zone following recent results and are in the middle of the run of fixtures against the top sides. Nevertheless, Real have won six straight league fixtures under Ramos and you would expect this to be a fairly routine victory for Los Merengues.
The first game of the weekend comes from the San Mames where Athletic, fresh from Copa Del Rey success, will look to break down a stubborn Malaga outfit who are unbeaten in six matches and are breathing right down the neck of Atletico in the final European spot. On Sunday, the embattled Javier Aguirre will watch his team play Valladolid. It could not be a better time to play Zortilla’s side, who have taken just one point from a possible 15 in the league. However, with Aguero and Forlan struggling for goals and looking familiarly brittle in defence, it could be a struggle.
Espanyol, who fought valiantly at the Camp Nou on Thursday, welcome Recreativo to the Montjuic in what has all the makings of being an ugly relegation dogfight. Pochettino is unbeaten in his short tenure with Los Pericos and I fancy they’ll grab an important 3 points, even though Recre won last time out against Betis. Speaking of Betis, Paco Chaparro is under pressure there and a defeat at home to Getafe could be the last straw. Betis have the worst home record in the league (5 defeats from 9 – woeful) so Getafe, fresh from their shellacking of Sporting last week, will fancy their chances.
Barcelona make the trip to Santander to play a Racing side who have looked full of confidence since the return of Nikola Zigic up front. Racing’s home form is poor, so Pep Guardiola will still be fairly confident his team can cruise unstoppably on. For Racing, a win, however unlikely, will strengthen their fight for UEFA cup place that looked out of the question in December. Manuel Pellegrini’s Villarreal, who continue to stumble, visit the Riazor to play a Deportivo side wounded from three straight league defeats. Mallorca, who pulled off the result of the week last time with their win over Valencia, visit Osasuna and Gregorio Manzano will be praying the form lasts so they could jump out of the bottom 3. Unai Emery will look to bounce back following league and cup disappointment with a win over Almeria, who have picked up just one away win this season. Finally, Sevilla visit Sporting Gijon which is a simply must-win fixture for Manolo Jiminez’s men if they wish to remain in the top four.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
La Liga Preview
Saturday January 17
19:00 Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna
21:00 Sevilla v C.D Numancia
Sunday January 18
16:00 Villarreal v Mallorca
16:00 Real Madrid v Osasuna
16:00 Getafe C.F v Racing Santander
16:00 Recreativo Huelva v Sporting de Gijón
16:00 Valladolid v Real Betis Balompié
16:00 Málaga v Espanyol
18:00 Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
20:00 Almeria v Atletico Madrid
For the first time in a while there are no stand-out games in this weekend’s round. Top of the pile I suppose is Barcelona hosting Deportivo on Saturday evening. Deportivo have had a wretched last week or so, losing both in the league and cup to Sevilla but Miguel Angel Lotina’s men are still in position for a European spot. However, Barcelona are the runaway leaders and have scored 31 goals in 9 games at home – the visitors will be up against it. Saturday’s other live game comes from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Numancia visit Sevilla. Sevilla’s demanding fans will expect nothing less than a convincing victory against a team desperate to pull away from the relegation places.
Sunday sees Real Madrid welcome Osasuna to the Bernabau. Camacho’s men gave Barcelona an almighty fright last week – can they go one better and get a result here? It looks unlikely but never say never. Villarreal and Mallorca, two teams in bad nick, meet at El Madrigal with the hosts looking for their first win since the end of November. Getafe and Racing, two sides looking over their shoulder, meet in Madrid while Valencia face the not entirely straightforward trip to the San Mames - Joaquin Caparros’s men are unbeaten in six. Real Betis and Valladolid are another duo in bad form clashing, while Sporting visit Andalucia’s struggling Recreativo. Espanyol will do well to get anything out of a trip to Malaga, while the final game of the weekend seems embattled Javier Aguirre take his Atletico outfit to Almeria for a game that promises to see one thing – goals, since both sides are crap at the back.
19:00 Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna
21:00 Sevilla v C.D Numancia
Sunday January 18
16:00 Villarreal v Mallorca
16:00 Real Madrid v Osasuna
16:00 Getafe C.F v Racing Santander
16:00 Recreativo Huelva v Sporting de Gijón
16:00 Valladolid v Real Betis Balompié
16:00 Málaga v Espanyol
18:00 Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
20:00 Almeria v Atletico Madrid
For the first time in a while there are no stand-out games in this weekend’s round. Top of the pile I suppose is Barcelona hosting Deportivo on Saturday evening. Deportivo have had a wretched last week or so, losing both in the league and cup to Sevilla but Miguel Angel Lotina’s men are still in position for a European spot. However, Barcelona are the runaway leaders and have scored 31 goals in 9 games at home – the visitors will be up against it. Saturday’s other live game comes from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Numancia visit Sevilla. Sevilla’s demanding fans will expect nothing less than a convincing victory against a team desperate to pull away from the relegation places.
Sunday sees Real Madrid welcome Osasuna to the Bernabau. Camacho’s men gave Barcelona an almighty fright last week – can they go one better and get a result here? It looks unlikely but never say never. Villarreal and Mallorca, two teams in bad nick, meet at El Madrigal with the hosts looking for their first win since the end of November. Getafe and Racing, two sides looking over their shoulder, meet in Madrid while Valencia face the not entirely straightforward trip to the San Mames - Joaquin Caparros’s men are unbeaten in six. Real Betis and Valladolid are another duo in bad form clashing, while Sporting visit Andalucia’s struggling Recreativo. Espanyol will do well to get anything out of a trip to Malaga, while the final game of the weekend seems embattled Javier Aguirre take his Atletico outfit to Almeria for a game that promises to see one thing – goals, since both sides are crap at the back.
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